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December 11th, 2011

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Mike Bibby. Per team policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

“Mike is a veteran point guard who we know can be successful in our system,” Grunwald said. “He’s an effective player who has a long track record of leading his teams to postseason success.”

Bibby, 6-2, 195-pounds, holds career averages of 15.2 points, 5.7 assists, 1.20 steals and 34.7 minutes in 962 games (946 starts) over 13 NBA seasons with Vancouver, Sacramento, Atlanta, Washington and Miami. The Cherry Hill, NJ-native posted 8.6 points, 3.3 assists and 0.60 steals over 28.6 minutes in 80 games (68 starts) with Atlanta, Washington and Miami last season. He started all 20 postseason games for the Miami Heat, averaging 3.6 points, 1.1 assists and 0.55 steals over 20.8 minutes.

The University of Arizona alum was originally selected after his sophomore season by Vancouver in the first round (second overall) in the 1998 NBA Draft. He appeared in 100 postseason games (100 starts) and averaged 13.0 points, 4.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.10 steals over 33.6 minutes.

“We’re excited to be adding the experience, toughness and veteran leadership that Kurt will provide for our team,” said Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan. “We’ve long respected Kurt and expect him to make a strong contribution to our organization.”

The Dallas native started 37 of 52 games with Chicago last season, posting averages of 4.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

Selected by Miami with the 10th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, Thomas (6-9, 230) became just the third player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring (28.9 ppg) and rebounding (14.6 rpg) his senior 1994-95 season at Texas Christian.

The cousin of former Suns guard Stephon Marbury, Telfair averaged 7.2 points and 3.0 assists in 19.2 minutes while appearing in 37 games (eight starts) for the Timberwolves last season.

Originally drafted out of high school, Telfair was the 13th overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Blazers. One of the most highly-touted high schoolers to ever enter the league, Telfair led Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School to three New York City titles and one state championship. He was the first player ever to be a three-time city champion and left school as the all-time leading prep scorer in New York history.

The Phoenix Suns today re-signed forward Grant Hill, the club has announced.

“Grant Hill represents everything we want the Phoenix Suns to stand for, both on and off the court,” said President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “Grant had other attractive offers, so we are delighted that he has chosen to remain a Sun.”

The 6-8, 225-pound forward is coming off a 2010-11 campaign in which he recorded one of the greatest statistical seasons for a player 38 years or older in NBA history, averaging 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 80 games (80 starts). Hill became only the seventh player in NBA history to average 13 or more points at the age of 38 or older, joining the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Reggie Miller. Hill’s 13.2-point scoring average was his highest since joining the Suns and the highest by a player his age since Miller in 2004-05.

A 17-year NBA veteran and seven-time All-Star, Hill originally signed with the Suns on July 11, 2007, and has averaged 12.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in four seasons in Phoenix. Since joining the Suns, Hill has proven remarkably durable. He has appeared in 313 of 328 possible games (.954), his most in a four-year span in his career and a higher percentage of games than while with Detroit in his first six NBA seasons (435 of 460, .946).

Hill is a three-time winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award (2004-05, 2007-08, 2009-10), the only player in league history to earn the honor multiple times. He is a two-time winner of the Suns’ Dan Majerle Hustle Award (2007-08, 2010-11), the only player who has earned the franchise honor multiple times.

Originally the third overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Pistons, Hill emerged as one of the NBA’s brightest young stars and shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Jason Kidd. He became the first rookie ever to lead an NBA All-Star fan balloting in 1994-95 with 1,289,585 votes. Hill has been named to an All-NBA Team five times, including First Team once (1996-97) and All-NBA Second Team four times (1995-96, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00).

A member of the 1996 United States Olympic Team where he helped “Dream Team III” capture the gold medal in Atlanta, Hill played his first six NBA seasons with the Pistons (1994-00) and the following seven with the Orlando Magic (2000-07) after being dealt by Detroit on Aug. 3, 2000.

The former Duke alum helped the Blue Devils win back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1991 and 1992 and is the only child of Janet and Calvin Hill. Hill is married to R&B singer Tamia, a four-time Grammy-nominated recording artist, and the couple has two daughters, Myla Grace and Lael Rose.

The Memphis Grizzlies waived Jared Reiner, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

Reiner, a 6-11, 255-pound center, holds NBA career averages of 1.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 46 games (four starts) over two seasons with the Chicago Bulls (2004-05) and Milwaukee Bucks (2006-07). The 29-year-old spent last season with BBC Bayreuth in Germany, where he recorded 12.6 points and 7.8 rebounds.

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed free agent guard Drew Neitzel. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Neitzel (6-0, 180) was a standout at Michigan State University where he was named All-America Second Team in 2007. During his four-year career as a Spartan, he played in 138 career games. Neitzel’s junior season he averaged 18.1 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds culminating in All-American honors.

Neitzel went undrafted in the 2008 NBA Draft, but played for the Minnesota Timberwolves summer league squad. In the summer of 2009, he competed in summer league as a member of the Portland Trailblazers. Last season, Neitzel spent the season with BBC Bayreuth in Germany seeing action in 16 games and averaging 7.7 points, 3.4 assists and 1.4 rebounds.

A native of Wyoming, Mich., Neitzel earned “Mr. Michigan” honors in 2004 and was a Parade All-American.

The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired the Dallas Mavericks’ first round selection in the 2012 NBA Draft in exchange for Lamar Odom and the Lakers 2012 second round draft pick, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak. In addition, the Lakers will receive a trade exception.

The trade exception is worth $8.9 million, reported the Orange County Register.

Odom (6-10, 230) is a two-time NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year. The 12-year veteran holds career averages of 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 829 career games (678 starts) with the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and Lakers.

Originally the fourth overall selection in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Odom spent his first four seasons with the Clippers and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2000. He was traded to Miami in 2003 before being a part of the deal that shipped him, Caron Butler and Brian Grant to the Lakers in exchange for Shaquille O’Neal.

Once with the Lakers, Odom proved to be a dependable and durable asset playing in 455 of the possible 492 games over six seasons in L.A., including all 82 contests in 2009-10 and 2010-11. His ability to play any position on the floor proved to be valuable as Odom and Lakers won back-to-back World Championships in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, Odom was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year by defeating Maverick Jason Terry for the honor.

A native of Queens, N.Y., Odom played one year of collegiate basketball at the University of Rhode Island where he led the Rams to the 1999 Atlantic 10 Championship. Odom declared himself eligible for the 1999 NBA Draft after his freshman season at Rhode Island.

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has re-signed free agent forward Jared Jeffries. Per team policy, terms of the deal will not disclosed.

Jeffries, 6-11, 235-pounds, posts career averages of 5.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 22.6 minutes in 552 games (331 starts) over nine seasons with Washington, New York and Houston. He originally signed with New York on Aug. 8, 2006, was traded to Houston on Feb. 18, 2010 and then re-signed by the Knicks on Mar. 1, 2011. The Indiana University alum averaged 2.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists over 19.3 minutes in 24 games (nine starts). He has appeared in 260 games (144 starts) with New York, averaging 4.3 points on .431 shooting, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists over 22.6 minutes.

The Toronto Raptors announced Sunday they have signed free-agent centre Aaron Gray. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed.

Gray played for the New Orleans Hornets in the 2010-11 season, averaging 3.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and a career-high 13.0 minutes. He shot .566 (56-99) from the field in his 41 appearances, including six in a starting role. He posted two double-doubles on the season, with 11 points and 10 rebounds at New Jersey on February 9 and 10 points and 10 rebounds versus Minnesota on February 5. He started six consecutive games from February 5-15, averaging 6.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 25.8 minutes.

Gray, 7-foot, 270 pounds, was a second-round selection (49th overall) by Chicago in the 2007 NBA Draft. He was dealt by the Bulls to the Hornets in January 2010. He has seen action in 190 career games with 25 starts, averaging 3.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 11.4 minutes. He posted his career highs against the Raptors on April 16, 2008 with a 19-point/22-rebound performance.

Gray has totaled 21 points, 22 rebounds and 96 minutes in eight career postseason games. He shot 9-13 (.692) from the field during last season’s first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, including five-for-five en route to 12 points in a Game 1 victory.

Gray played four seasons collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh. He was named Big East Most Improved Player in 2005-06, upping his scoring and rebound averages from 4.3 points and 2.8 rebounds as a sophomore to 13.9 points and 10.5 rebounds in his junior season. He was an All-Big East First Team selection as a senior, posting averages of 13.9 points and 9.5 rebounds.

The Golden State Warriors have waived guard Charlie Bell and designated him as the team’s amnesty player, the team announced today. Additionally, the Warriors have rescinded their qualify offer to forward Reggie Williams.

Bell, 32, appeared in19 games for the Warriors last season, averaging 1.7 points in 9.0 minutes of action.

Williams, 25, appeared in 80 games (nine starts) for Golden State last season, averaging 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.3 minutes per contest. Originally signed by Golden State as a call-up from the NBA Development League on March 2, 2010, Williams appeared in 104 games for the Warriors over the last two seasons, averaging 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.

The Washington Wizards announced today that they have re-signed center Hamady Ndiaye.

“Hamady gained valuable experience when he received more playing time at the end of last season and worked hard this summer to continue to improve,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “His tremendous attitude and work ethic make him a valuable piece of the team’s chemistry.”

Ndiaye returns to the Wizards after appearing in 16 games for the team last season. The 7-0 native of Senegal was originally selected by Minnesota with the 56th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft before his rights were traded along with the rights to Trevor Booker in exchange for the rights to Lazar Hayward and Nemanja Bjelica on Draft Night and was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year at Rutgers in 2010.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that restricted free agent center Spencer Hawes has accepted the team’s qualifying offer. Hawes is completing his physical at Main Line Health and will begin practicing with the Sixers today. Philadelphia’s training camp roster now stands at 17.

“With the signing of Spencer, we now have our core returning - a group that is very familiar with each other, their roles and Coach Collins’ system and philosophies,” Sixers President of Basketball Operations Rod Thorn said.

Hawes (7-1, 245) started all but one game for the Sixers last season, averaging 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.88 blocks in 21.2 minutes per game. Over the final 18 games, he averaged 27.1 mpg, up from 19.5 his first 63 games played. The Sixers were 14-6 when he scored in double-figures.

In four NBA seasons, Hawes has appeared in 301 games with 199 starts, averaging 8.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.95 blocks in 22.6 minutes per game. He was the 10th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by Sacramento and was acquired via trade by Philadelphia along with Andres Nocioni in exchange for Samuel Dalembert on June 17, 2010.

“Me and Shawn Kemp are friends, but he signed a contract, went into a lockout and came back overweight,” Zach Randolph said. “I didn’t want to be like that.”

Randolph is indeed the Grizzlies’ poster child for the lockout. He returned as the franchise player, looking like a supermodel, so to speak, thanks in part to University of Memphis assistant Frank Matrisciano.

People call Matrisciano “Hell’s Trainer.” Matrisciano refers to himself as a life-changer. Count Randolph and everyone around him as true believers.

“There will be some players that come back now who won’t be in shape,” Randolph said. “You’re going to notice. So I was definitely motivated to not let myself go.”